Roll-up screen partition

ABSTRACT

A roll-up partition has a post, a reel and a panel. The reel has an outer tube which has an inner space defined in a center of the outer tube and slot is longitudinally defined in a periphery of the outer tube and in communication with the inner space. A rod is rotatably received in the inner space. A first end of the panel is connected to the reel and a second end of the panel is connected to the post. The panel can be easily and quickly rolled up into the reel of the present invention wherein the panel is protected from damage and contamination.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a screen partition, and moreparticularly to a screen partition that can be rolled up on a reel forstorage or transport.

2. Description of the Related Art

At exhibitions, whether indoors or outdoors, portable partitions areerected to divide the exhibition area into separate spaces or placed todirect people in a certain direction. The partitions can be made ofrigid or soft panels. Many portable partitions use soft flexible panelsor screens for convenient storage.

A conventional screen partition comprises a panel and two posts. Thepanel is securely mounted at two ends on the two posts, respectively.The posts are positioned in a desired location and the panel is extendedto form a wall to divide an area.

However, with a conventional screen partition, the panel must bemanually rolled up around one of the posts for storage and unrolled foruse, which is both time consuming and inconvenient. Furthermore, thepanel can be easily soiled or damaged because it is exposed andunprotected.

Therefore, the invention provides a roll-up screen partition to mitigateor obviate the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main objective of the present invention is to provide a roll-upscreen partition, which can be easily rolled up and protected when notin use.

Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention willbecome more apparent from the following detailed description when takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an operational perspective view of a first embodiment of aroll-up screen partition in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a reel of the first embodiment of theroll-up screen partition in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a reel of a second embodimentof a roll-up screen partition in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the reel of the second embodiment of theroll-up screen partition in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a top sectional view of a coil spring of the second embodimentof the roll-up screen partition in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an operational top view in partial section of the reel of thesecond embodiment of the roll-up screen partition along line 4-4 in FIG.4;

FIG. 7 is an operational top view in partial section of the reel in FIG.6 with an actuator pushed; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the roll-upscreen partition in accordance with the present invention withadditional panels and posts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to FIG. 1, a first embodiment of a roll-up screenpartition is composed of a post (21), a reel (10) and a panel (70). Afirst end of the panel (70) is mounted to the reel (10) and a second endof the panel (70) is mounted to the post (21).

With reference to FIG. 2, the reel (10) has an outer tube (13). A lowercap (11) is provided on a lower end of the outer tube (13) and an uppercap (12) is provided on an upper end of the outer tube (13). In thefirst embodiment, the upper cap (12) is partially inserted into theupper end of the outer tube (13) and the lower cap (11) is partiallyinserted into the lower end of the outer tube (13). In otherembodiments, the upper and the lower caps (12, 11) can also be mountedrespectively on the outer tube (13) by fasteners or other forms ofengagement.

A hole (17) is axially defined in the upper cap (12) and a cup (15),with an open end defined upward, is axially formed on a top surface ofthe lower cap (11). An inner space (14) is defined inside the outer tube(13). A slot (16) is longitudinally defined in a sidewall of the outertube (13) and communicates with the inner space (14). A rod (19) isrotatably mounted inside the outer tube (13) in the inner space (14). Anupper end of the rod (19) extends out through the hole (17) and a lowerend of the rod (19) is rotatably mounted in the cup (15). A handle (18)is mounted on the upper end of the rod (19). The first end of the panel(70) is mounted on the rod (19) through the slot (16). Two spikes (80)are mounted respectively at a lower end of the post (21) and the lowerend of the reel (10). Each spike (80) has a pedal (81) pivotally mountedon a side thereof to assist in driving the spike (80) into the ground ata desired location. With the rotation of the handle (18), the panel (70)can be rolled up into the inner space (14) through the slot (16) andaround the rod (19) for safe storage.

With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, a second embodiment of a roll-up screenpartition is the same as the first embodiment except for a reel (20).

The reel (20) in the second embodiment is composed of an outer tube (50)with a pawl assembly (90). An inner space (51) is defined inside theouter tube (50). A slot (52) is longitudinally defined in a sidewall ofthe outer tube (50) and communicates with the inner space (51). Theouter tube (50) has an upper cap (40) mounted on an upper end thereofand a lower cap (30) mounted on a lower end thereof. The upper cap (40)has an open top and a through hole in the bottom. The lower cap (30) hasan open bottom and a through hole in the top. A spring housing (62) ismounted rotatably inside the upper cap (40). The spring housing (62) hasan open top and a protrusion (61) axially formed on a bottom that ismounted through the through hole of the upper cap (40). Multipleunidirectional teeth (65) are formed around the periphery of theprotrusion (61). Two end plates are mounted over the open top of theupper cap (40) and the open bottom of the lower cap (30), respectively.A lower lug (33) is rotatably and axially mounted on an inner surface ofthe end plate of the lower cap (30). An upper lug (43) is axially formedon the inner surface of the end cap of the upper cap (40).

A rod (60) is rotatably mounted inside the outer tube (50) in the innerspace (51). A lower end of the rod (60) is rotatably mounted on thelower lug (33) and an upper end of the rod (60) is securely connected tothe protrusion (61) of the spring housing (62). The spring housing (62)is rotatably connected to the upper lug (43) of the end plate of theupper cap (40), thereby defining a chamber (63) in the spring housing(62). A first end of the panel (70) is connected to the rod (60) throughthe slot (52).

The pawl assembly (90) has an actuator (91), a torsion spring (92), abiasing spring and a pawl (93). A first end of the actuator (91)transversely extends out of a periphery of the upper cap (40). A secondend of the actuator (91) extends substantially into the upper cap (40).The actuator (91) is biased by the biasing spring such that the firstend of the actuator (91) remains extended out of the upper cap (40). Thetorsion spring (92) and the pawl (93) are pivotally mounted in the uppercap (40) and adjacent to the actuator (91). One end of the torsionspring (92) abuts against a second end of the pawl (93) to make a firstend of the pawl (93) push against the actuator (91). The second end ofthe pawl (93) is engaged with one of the teeth (65) form around theouter surface of the protrusion (61).

With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, a coil spring (64) is provided in thechamber (63) and a first end of the coil spring (64) is connected to theupper lug (43) and a second end of the coil spring (64) is connected tothe rod (60) via the spring housing (62).

With reference to FIG. 6, when the actuator (91) is not pushed into theupper cap (40), the second end of the pawl (93) clamps to the teeth (65)so that the rod (60) can only rotate counterclockwise.

With reference to FIG. 7, when the actuator (91) is pushed into theupper cap (40), the pawl (93) pivots and separates from the teeth (65)so that the rod (60) can be freely rotated clockwise orcounterclockwise.

With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, when the panel (70) is unrolled, therod (60) connected to the panel (70) is drawn to rotate counterclockwisewithout being stopped by the teeth (65). The coil spring (64) is alsorotated counterclockwise with the rod (60) thereby storing the resilientforce of the coil spring (64). With the engagement between the secondend of the pawl (93) and the teeth (65) on the rod (60), the torsionspring (92) and the pawl (93) prevent the rod (60) from rotatingclockwise to keep the panel at an expanded condition. When the actuator(91) is pushed into the upper cap (40), the pawl (93) releases the teeth(65) so that the rod (60) can be rotated clockwise by the resilientforce of the coil spring (94) causing the panel (70) to be reeled intothe inner space (51).

With reference to FIG. 8, additional posts (21) and panels (70) can beadded to increase the extent of coverage of the present invention.

The present invention allows a user to quickly and easily erect apartition. Furthermore, the panel (70) can be conveniently rolled up andstored inside the reel (10,20) to protect the panel (70) from damage orcontamination.

It is to be understood, however, that even though numerouscharacteristics and advantages of the present invention have been setforth in the foregoing description, together with details of thestructure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrativeonly. Changes may be made in the details, especially in matters ofshape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of theinvention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning ofthe terms in which the appended claims are expressed.

1. A roll-up partition comprising: a post; a reel having an outer tubehaving an inner space defined in the outer tube, an slot longitudinallydefined in a periphery of the outer tube and in communication with theinner space, and a rod rotatably received in the inner space; and apanel, a first end of the panel connected to the reel and a second endof the panel connected to the post.
 2. The roll-up partition as claimedin claim 1, wherein a top end of the rod extends out of the outer tubeand a handle is mounted on the top end of the rod.
 3. The roll-uppartition as claimed in claim 1, wherein a circular chamber is formedbetween the rod and the outer tube, a coil spring is received into thechamber, an actuator is inserted into the inner space from the peripheryof the outer tube, a pawl and a torsion spring are pivotally mountedadjacent to the actuator, multiple unidirectional teeth are formed in aperiphery of the rod, a first end of the pawl is pressed against theactuator via the torsion spring and a second end of the pawl is pressedagainst the teeth.
 4. The roll-up partition as claimed in claim 3,wherein a first end of the coil spring is connected to the rod and asecond end of the coil spring is connected to the outer tube.
 5. Theroll-up partition as claimed in claim 3, wherein an upper cap is mountedon an upper end of the outer tube and a lower cap is mounted on a lowerend of the outer tube, the chamber is formed between a top end of therod and the upper cap, a first end of the coil spring is connected tothe rod and a second end of the coil spring is connected to the uppercap, and the actuator is inserted into a periphery of the upper cap. 6.The roll-up partition as claimed in claim 1, wherein each post and eachreel respectively have a spike mounted on a lower end thereof.
 7. Theroll-up partition as claimed in claim 6, wherein a pedal is transverselyprovided adjacent to the spike.
 8. The roll-up partition as claimed inclaim 1, wherein at least one other panel is connected to the reel andat least one other post is connected to the other panel.
 9. The roll-uppartition as claimed in claim 5, wherein the upper cap and the lower capare partially inserted into the rod.